Improvement in car starter and brake



J. HILL. Gar Starter and: Brake.

No. 214,913. Patented VApril 29, 1879.

, lm, f, 4

N.FETER5, PHOI'D-UTHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. D c.

UNITED STATEs PATENT OEEICEc JOSEPH HILL, OF WILLIAMSPORT, PENNSYLVANIA,ASSIGNOR IO HIMSELF Y AND JOHN R. T. RYAN, SAME PLACE.

IMPRovEMENThIN cAR STARTER AND BRAKE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 214,913, dated April29, 1879; application filed september 21,' 187e.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH HILL, ofWilliamsport, in the county' ofLycoming and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Combined Gar Starter and Brake; and I do hereby declarethat the following is a fullvand exact description of the same,reference being' had tothe accompanying drawings, and to the letters ofreference marked thereon.

The object I have in view is the production of a car-starter, alsoforming a brake, especially adapted for use upon street-cars, which willbe simple and strong in construction and not liable to get out of order,and will be eflicient in operation, not requiring any attention from thedriver in its use as a starter after being shifted to work while the caris going in one direction, and preventing any backward movement of thecar, also being easily and conveniently applied as a brake to stop theforward movement of the car.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combinationof the principal operative parts of my starter and brake, all as fullyhereinafter explained.

In the drawings, Figure l is a sectional view of the floor and trucks ofa Streetcar with my improvement attached; Fig. 2, a bottom view of thesame; Fig. 3, a separate view of the double friction-clutch, and Fig. 4a section of the same on the line 4 4 in Fig. 3.

Like letters denote corresponding parts.

Upon the center of either axle A of the car is keyed a drum, B, having acentrally-projectin g friction ange or wheel, C, of any suitablematerial. On each side of the frictionwheel C the drum has a shoulder,a, Fig. 4, and is of smaller size outside of these shoulders. Theenlarged ends of arms D lD fit over the ends of the drum and work freelyon the same, the arms D bearing against the shoulders a, while the armsD work against the outer face of the arms DQ These arms project fromopposite sides of the drum beyond the periphery of the friction-wheel,and have pivoted between their ends clutching-levers E E. The short armsof these levers extend inwardly toward the friction-wheel, while theirlong arms, formed about at right angles to the short arms, projectupwardly toward the floor of the car, their upper ends being connectedby chains and rods b b', running in opposite 'directions to thedraw-bars c c.v The bolt which pivots either of the clutching-levers toits carrying-arms may be passed through any of a number of holes, d,made in the ends of the arms and the angles of the levers, so that whenthe friction-surfaces are-wornfby-use, the levers can be adjusted closertothe friction-wheel, thus prolonging greatly the time that one of thesedouble clutches can be used without repair.

F is a horizontal rod, sliding in the ends of hangers supported from theplatform of the car nearest the clutch. This rod is moved back and forthby a lever, e, pivoted to the platform, which lever may be operatedeither by the hand or foot of the driver. The rod F preferably extendsthe whole length of the car, and a lever is situated on each platform tooperate it; but when my improvement is used alone as a starter, it maybe worked by only one lever. The rod F is situated to one side and justbelow the frictionwheel C, and has arms f, which work back and forthbelow the friction-wheel. When the rod F is moved in one direction, oneof the arms f strikes the under side of the clutchinglever and itscarrying-arms on the side of the axle toward which the rod is moved andraises them, throwing the lever out of engagement with thefriction-wheel. An opposite movement raises and disengages the otherclutching-lever, while the first lever drops by its own weight intoengagement with the frictionwheel. If the car is being pulled from thedraw-bar c, the clutching-lever E should be raised by sliding the rod Fforward. Then, when the horse is started, the draft will be upon thelong arm of the lever E, and the short arm of such lever will lockagainst the periphery of the friction-Wheel, giving the horse theadvantage of the leverage thus 0btained till the lever reaches itshighest point, when it is out of contact withV the frictionwheel. Atevery start this operation takes place without any further attentionfrom the driver of the car than that of seeing that the clutching-leversare in the right positions.

When the car is in motion, at the instant the traces of the horse areslack the clutchinglever will drop down, and will remain out ofengagement with the friction-wheel till the horse tightens in thetraces, when the lever will be raised and the clutch operated, so thatthe starter will he in constant use even While the car is moving. Intraveling in the opposite direction, the rod F is shifted and theengagement of the friction-levers reversed.

With my improved starter the car will stand on an up grade, since anybackward movement will lock the lever, which is in use as a starter,with the friction-wheel. To stop the forward motion of the car, the rodF is shift ed, and the clutching-lever on the forward side of thefriction-wheel thrown into engagement therewith. As the car is againstarted, the lever on the rear side of the friction-wheel is thrown intoengagement to act as a starter.

Thus it will be seen that by the movement of a single lever my devicescan be worked to act effectively both as a starter and as a brake,assist-ing the horse and controlling completely the movements of thecar.

It will be seen .that my improvements can be otherwise applied than to astreet-car, since they could be used with good advantage on hand andother cars.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. The combination of thefriction-wheel C, the arms D D', and the clutching-levers E E',adjustably pivoted to said arms, constructed and arranged substantiallyas described and shown.

2. The car starter and brake described, wherein are combinedafriction-Wheel keyed on an axle and two adiustably-pivotedclutchinglevers engaging with opposite sides of such friction-wheel, andconnected with the drawbars and the shifting-rod, and operated by alever, substantially as set forth and shown.

This specification signed and witnessed this 26th day of July, 1878.

JOSEPH HILL.

Witnesses:

JOHN J. HARRISON, Tnos. H. HARTMAN.

